Katya O. wrote:1)I can't find an explanation for the use of the comparative and positive degree of comparison of adjectives. I can't understand why the author doesn't use "easy". Why does he[*] writes"easier"?
[*] "He" is not considered a neutral pronoun in contemporary English. You wouldn't normally use it unless you were sure of the gender of the author. I just Googled the sentence and found no indication that the author in question is male.
Katya O. wrote:Here is athe sentence:
"Every parent wishes an EASIER life for their children."
I meetsee an "extra" (it seems to me that it's extra) comparative degree of the adjective often. Could you give me the rule of usage for the comparative and positive degree of comparison of adjectives. I don't need simple rule like "good-better-the best"
The rule is that you use the comparative degree when you're making a comparison. Sometimes the comparison is only implied. Here the implication is "an easier life than they (the parent) had".
Katya O. wrote:2)Why does the author uses "their" if there is a singular "parent"?
Because this is the prevailing contemporary usage when the gender of the person is not known. The common name for this is "
singular they".
Katya O. wrote:P.S. How's the weather in your country?
Varied. (I live in a big country.)
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons